The Memories Flood
by bingowildshadow
Summary: A sequel to The Memory Slips. It contains the same main characters, though I will be adding new characters as it goes. It takes place a few months after the first one. I watch three of the X-men movies today so was on a high to write another story.
1. Prologue

**There are a lot of skips in this prologue, but I think it's okay, considering it's a prologue and mostly a sort of recap from "The Memory Slips". The more reviews I get, the more motivated I'll be to continuing the story. No flames please, constructive critisism though is welcomed. The one's in bold are parts of the last story that weren't flashbacks.**

_**Prolouge**_

_"Oh, sweetie, it'll be okay," he said, trying to calm his girlfriend. "Your dad said he'd be careful."_

_"Your not scared? At all?" she asked, pulling away from his embrace to look him in the eyes._

_He thought for a moment about what he should tell her. Of course he was scared, he was terrified, but he didn't want to scare her. His eyes softened as he made eye contact, "I'll be fine, I promise. If I do this then maybe your dad will accept me, your brother has finally gotten nicer."_

_"I know, but I'm still scared." She leaned tight into him again._

_"Alright Logan, let's go," Clara's dad called from inside his experimental labratory._

_"It'll be fine, Clara. My sweet Clara." Logan leaned in and kissed her. Lightly at first, but then pulled her closer and kissed her harder._

_"Logan!" Clara's dad called again._

_Logan pulled away, and looked at her caringly once more before stepping through the door. Clara followed after, hesitantly, and sat in the corner of the small room._

_Clara's dad, Willaim Stryker, instructed the boy to remove his shirt and get into the tub of green liquid. Logan shivered a bit as the cold of the substance shot up his legs, but got in and laid down, placing his head on the built in headset. Clara wathed nervously. She knew how it was supposed to work._

_She knew Logan was a type of mutant who's body would heal itself from merely every wound. The thought of a mutant wasn't new to her; her brother was able to project images or hallucinations into other's minds. She, herself, was also a mutant. She had the ability to turn into animals, all of which were black with lightening bolt streaks down the sides. She didn't feel scared for her boyfriend for this reason, she was scared because her dad hated mutants._

_Her dad took a thin needle and injected it into the boy's shoulder and another into his upper thigh. He then walked behind a podium which Clara took to be some sort of control panel. He pushed a button, and Clara saw a silvery, thick liquid run down the tubes. As Logan closed his eyes in preparation, the liquid went through his skin, and into his bloodstream._

_Within a minute, burns began working their way from the inside of him out to his skin. Logan began screaming out in pain. "Stop! Father, stop!" Clara yelled, running forward to the side of the tub and looked down at the screaming man. She turned back to her father to see him push another button which made the silver liquid flow faster. "No!" she looked around and saw her brother, Jason. While he was in his newly acquired wheel shair, he was concentrating, hard._

_He suddenly appeared and Logan stopped his screaming and glared at him. He saw the knife in the vision guy's hand. He had it clamped down against her neck so hard it was already bleeding. He laughed at her as she struggled against him, and as Logan stopped screaming._

_"I told you, she's mine. You wouldn't leave her to me, she's mine!" the boy hissed._

_"Sam...Sam let me go, please? Logan! Please!" the young girl screamed, tears streaming down her face._

_Clara fell back on the ground, clutching the whole left side of her face. Logan began screaming again. Clara looked around and found a sharp, metal instrument. She grabbed it and swung it over her head as she lunged at the podium. Bringing it down, she stabbed the metal into the controls. Again, she was sent to the ground, her hands now burned black, and her face still freely bleeding._

_Logan couldn't take the burning anymore. He stood up and ripped the needles from his body. He screamed louder once he saw his claws, and then Clara...his Clara, on the ground dangerously hurt, from his claws._

_He couldn't stand it. Still screaming, he ran out. Out on the experiment, out on the life he had. He ran out on Clara. The saddest part was, the next day, he wouldn't remember any of his past..._

_

* * *

  
_

_The day before the experiment..."Yes, Logan, sign here, and we'll be all set." Stryker gave a triumphant grin. When Logan hesitated in signing, the scientist added, "I'm sure Clara will appreciate it."_

_"Appreciate what?" Clara asked, coming down the stairs, having just woken up. She was still in her pajamas, her hair was a mess, and Logan thought she was beautiful. "Hey Logan, what are you doing here so early?"_

_Logan kissed her lightly when she walked over to him. "I had to talk to your father about something."_

_Clara narrowed her eyes and looked between the two. "About what?"_

_"Well...I..." Logan was afraid of what her reaction would be. She always hated her father's experiments._

_"He's letting me experiment on him," Stryker said, gladly. "As soon as he signs here."_

_Clara's eyes widened as she looked back at Logan, but he wasn't meeting her gaze. "Logan?" she asked._

_"I-I need the extra money..." he replied, finally meeting her gaze, and almost regretting it when he did._

_"Lo-"_

_"Here's a pen," her father held it out for him. Logan took it, looking down at the contract, feeling as though he were selling his soul. With shaky hands, he signed his name._

_"Lo-Logan..." Clara said, almost horrified. "How...why..." When Logan gave the pen back, Clara grabbed his arm and pulled him after her until they were in another room. She threw him in a chair, staring down at him. "Why the hell did you do that? You couldn't possibly need money that bad!"_

_Logan didn't answer, he didn't even look at her._

_"Would you answer me please?!" she yelled, getting really angry now._

_"I...can't..." he replied, finally looking up at her. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to him until she was sitting on his lap. "Please do not be angry with me, I have my reasons for doing this, I really do."_

_Clara folded her arms across her chest, "You know how I feel about his experiments. He hasn't had one work out in a long time. What if something happens to you?" she asked, her eyes begginning to tear up as the worry was heard in her voice._

_Logan looked at her warmly, then kissed her gently. "I'll be okay. He said he'd be careful."_

_"But that's what he always says," she leaned her face into his shoulder, giving up on trying to hold back the tears. She let them fall instead. "The last person di..." she couldn't bring her self to say what had happened, but Logan got the idea._

_He held her close, putting his chin on her head. Trying to keep his voice calm and even, he stated, "That's not going to happen to me, alright? I'll be the same person I am now, I'll just be new and improved." He tried for a smile, but didn't get one._

_"Fine," she pulled away from him. "If you're still alive, come and find me," she snapped, stomping out of the room._

_"Clara..." he called after her. When she didn't respond, Logan sighed and walked back through the kitchen until he reached his boots near the front door._

_"Logan, here's half the payment I owe you, you'll get the other half after tomorrow." Logan took the envelope from the man, counting to make sure he was being payed what he was supposed to be. "Tomorrow, around one o'clock work for you?"_

_Logan nodded and walked outside, turning back for just a second. "When Clara finally comes back down, can you tell her to come and see me, I have something for her."_

_"We'll see..." Stryker said, throwing the boy outside._

_There was a knock on the door, and Logan instantly knew who it was. Leaping up, he ran to the door, opening it to find her standing there. She didn't look at him, and from the way her hair fell, and her lines of mascara that ran down her cheeks, he knew she had been crying heavily. "Clara, come inside, please?" he asked. He didn't make any move to touch her, knowing she would have pulled away anyway._

_Clara walked inside, and then just stood there, staring at the floor, not wanting him to see her red eyes. She wiped her cheeks again with the back of her hand. "My dad said you wanted to see me?"_

_"Yes, I did," he almost started crying when she refused to look at him, his heart breaking a little bit. "Sweetheart, how long have you been crying?"_

_"I'm not...I mean I haven't been crying."_

_Logan sighed, sadly. "Come here." He took her hands and led her to the living room. "Will you just sit here for a second, I have something for you." She sat down, wiping her eyes again, making Logan feel even worse. He ran to his room, searching around in his dresser for what he had bought._

_Coming back to the room, he sat down on the couch next to her. "Happy birthday, Claire." Clara looked at his hands and saw the most beautiful necklace that she had ever laid eyes upon. It was a silvery blue color, with saphire embedded into it._

_Clara smiled, and finally looked up at him. "Oh, Logan, it's beautiful."_

_Logan smiled at her, caringly. "Turn around, I would love to have the privellege to put it on you." Clara turned around and pulled her hair up. He threaded the necklace around her neck, gently._

_Once it was on, Clara let her hair go and looked at it around her neck as she turned back to him. "It's beautiful," she repeated, looking up at him, her eyes twinkling._

_"Yes, you are." Clara blushed a bit, making Logan laugh. He ran this thumb along her cheek, erasing the evidence of her crying, before kissing her forehead. "I love you, Clara."_

_"I love you to," she replied, kissing him._

_

* * *

  
_

_"How are you coming in that book?" she asked, sitting down next to him on the couch._

_"Hold on, I'm getting to a good part," Clara leaned over and read where he was. Instead of staying like that, Logan began just reading it aloud to her._

_Clara leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped his one arm around her, lying it across her stomach. She looked up suddenly when she heard him sniffle a bit._

_He blinked, trying to hide it, but a tear fell anyway, and Clara laughed at him. "Oh, is my tough Logan actually crying?"_

_"It's sad," he said, turning to face her. She laughed again when she saw his red eyes._

_"Oh, should we get you a different book?" she reached for the one he was reading, but he pulled it away._

_"No, I like this one. Besides, a good cry does everyone good every once in a while, don't you think?" He kissed her gently, then went back to reading the book._

_

* * *

  
_

_"Logan...help me, please..." he heard her voice pleading, he could hear the fright and the tears in her voice._

_"Where are you?" he asked quickly. "...Clara, where are you?!"_

_"I-I don't know...downtown, in front of that store you like..." she sobbed, and Logan grabbed his keys and shot out into his car, almost forgetting the headlights even though it was pitch black outside._

_"Hey, calm down love, I'll be right there okay? Where are they?" he gunned the gas._

_Clara must have heard the car because her voice was a little more relaxed. "I can hear them, but I don't know how far away they are...Logan please, I'm really scared."_

_Logan sighed, "I know, I'll be right there. Don't let them find you, okay? I love you..." he heard a smash and a scream as he guessed the phone had fallen to the ground...and the guys had found her._

_He snarled angrily as he sped down the empty streets, ignoring lights and stop signs. "Hold on Claire..." he growled as he swung down the street. He parked the car just as he got out, having to run down the street as he tried to find her. Hearing a halfhearted attempt at a snarl, he turned and saw shadows moving in the store across the street._

_"Come here darlin', we won't hurt ya. No need to get all snippy now..." the guys laughed. Logan snarled as he saw Clara backed into a corner, snarling, her wolf fangs gleaming in the little light from outside._

_He didn't time to think why they hadn't run away from her when they found out what she was, he just acted. Jumping through the closed window, glass spewing everywhere, he snarled at them again. "Leave her alone."_

_"Logan..." Clara sighed with relief, changing back and running to him, only to be caught by one of the men. He had fangs, long, saber like fangs, and his fur brushed against her skin as he grabbed her, biting her neck hard enough to leave a mark and make her whimper, struggling to get away._

_Logan wouldn't have it, and his gaze filled with anger. Without a moments hesitation he grabbed his knife from his back pocket and stabbed it into the nearest guy's neck before pulling it back out and glaring at the other. "Let her go..." he snapped._

_Sabretooth bit her again, leaving huge punctures in her shoulder. She was way to frightened...and drugged. Logan finally noticed, they had drugged her. This made him even madder. There was no way she could react fast enough to change and get away from him. She could hardly think at all. "Hmm...no..." Sabretooth laughed, pulling her with him as he backed up._

_Clara whimpered again, "Logan..." she pleaded softly, getting the mutant's hard, cracked lips on her's now as punishment._

_Logan leapt forward, stabbing his knife deep into the other's shoulder, making him drop Clara. Sabretooth yelled out in anger as he turned to face Logan, who then punched him before taking his place standing in front of Clara, glaring at the other. "Get out...and if I ever see you near my girl again, I'll kill ya. And it won't be a nice pleasant death either, I assure you."_

_Sabretooth glared, but did as the younger boy instructed, leaving without another word._

_"Logan..." Clara said again, and he was suddenly pulling her close to him._

_Holding her tightly to his chest, "What were you thinking Clara?! What the hell were you doing out here so late?!"_

_"I-I got a phone call, and it scared me. Told me they were going to hurt Jason, and you...I..." she had to push away from him quickly as she vomited, the drugs making her sick. "I..."_

_Logan sighed, just picking her up and carrying her through the broken window to his car, ignoring the loud alarms that were being emitted from the store and the sirens from several blocks away. He put her on his lap as he hopped into the front seat. "Hold on Claire, we've got to get out of here." He wrapped his arm around her tightly and took off quickly, the speedometer never dropping below a hundred as he drove her to his apartment._

_Carrying her inside he dropped her on the couch, giving her a blanket, a pillow, and the trashcan, seeing as she was still sick. "We'll talk about it in the morning."_

_"Don't...don't leave me, please," she begged._

_"I'm right here love," he sat in one of the other chairs in the room._

_"I'm sorry, I was scared...I got the call, I thought it was just a creepy prank call. About a half hour later I heard someone smash the back window...I was home alone, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to stay there, so I ran. I was trying to find somewhere safe, I didn't think they'd follow me. Thought they would stay in the house, steal something, but then leave..."_

_"You didn't do anything when they first called you?" Logan asked, not catching anything past that._

_"I thought it was just meant to scare me...I didn't think..."_

_"No, you didn't!" he snapped. "You should have called me, or left then. You could have driven off somewhere."_

_"I didn't have a car..." Clara told him, her tone growing edgy as his grew angry. "You were probably asleep and would have told me to forget about it because it was probably some idiots who had nothing else to do at three in the morning."_

_"I wouldn't have said that!"_

_"Yes you would have! You would have told me I was being paranoid or something and to go back to sleep!" she was yelling now too. She sat up so she could better look at him._

_Logan's growl could be heard clear across the room. She was right, he probably would have said that, but that didn't make him any less angry. "So you just ran?! You could have flown you know! They wouldn't have been able to follow you then!"_

_"I did fly! I don't know how they still found me, but they did! I'm not an idiot. I do think things through!" she yelled._

_"Fine Claire, fine. Just...go to sleep," he growled as he leaned his head back in the chair._

_"No! Take me home!" she ordered, standing up angrily._

_"No, got to sleep," he responded, his voice flat._

_Clara saw his jaw clench and knew he wouldn't agree to driving her. "Fine! I'll fly myself home!" she turned, stumbling as she walked, an after effect of the drugs._

_"You can't even walk a straight line, how the hell are you going to fly?!" he snapped, having gotten up and caught her before she fell._

_"I'll figure it out," she snapped, shoving him away from her and leaving._

_

* * *

  
_

_A man's head smashed into the bars, blood spewed everywhere, "Would you two shut up?!" Logan snarled from his bed where he was trying to sleep._

_"What are you gonna do? Go crying to your girlfriend again?" they asked, picking up the paper and pen that laid on the ground. "What'cha gonna write this time? You wouldn't believe it, these two men started picking on me again. This place is full of meany-faces, come and get me," the two laughed, ripping the papter in two._

_"Hey!" he was up in a flash, the other man's throat in his hand. "You are never to touch my stuff again, do you understand me?" he growled._

_"F-f-fine..." the other man managed to get out as he started turning blue._

_Logan dropped him and turned to punch the other guy who was trying to sneak up on him, sending him sprawling easily. "Now if you two would keep it down," he pulled the two pieces of paper up and sat on his bed, writing again. He told her about how it wasn't all that bad, and that he was only in for a few months, and that he loved her, he wrote that he loved her a lot._

_

* * *

  
_

_The boy ran after the girl, looking up to the sky, "Why are we here? It's going to rain in like, five minutes. I can hear the thunder already."_

_"I don't fear the rain," she answered him, turning her head so that he could see her eyes twinkling._

_Her lips were blue from the cold, Logan noticed._

_"You're cold, come, let's go back." He ran up ahead of her, stopping her in her tracks._

_"Just a little farther, please? I don't want to go back home yet, I like it here. Away from people, from their injustices, and their treatments. Can't we just stay, just a little longer, please?" her eyes turned up towards the boy's, pleading to him._

_"Fine, but at least take my jacket, you look like you're freezing, and you're gonna be wet soon."_

_She nodded, relieved that they didn't have to leave yet. Once his jacket was around her shoulders, she walked on. Finally, just before the rain started, she pulled herself into a tree, and climbed up higher in the branches._

_"Get down from there! There's going to be lightning any minute."_

_"Would you stop worrying, Logan? I like it up here, and I'm not afraid."_

_"But I am, I'm scared for you, please come down."_

_The girl looked a little shocked by his comment, "I will not come down yet, but you may come up, if you like."_

_He moaned and grabbed the first branch, climbing up tot he branch just below her. "Alright, I'm up, can we go, please?"_

_"Why do you worry? The chances we're going to be hit are very low. If you as high as you were the other night, you wouldn't be worried."_

_"I know you hated seeing me like that, and I'm sorry, I didn't want you to. If you come down now though, I promise I'll stop."_

_"Why should I believe you, promises are just things people say to get them to agree. Those people they trick are always let down."_

_"You can trust me, I won't break this one. I really won't, just please, I don't want to see you get hurt."_

_She sighed, looking down at him, "Alright, I'll come down, but you're gonna have to move so I can step there."_

_Logan stepped down ahead of her, keeping his eye on her, as the rain finally started. As he watched her, a bolt of lightning hit near them, making the girl jump. She slipped and began to fall._

_"Clara!" the young boy yelled as she fell out of his reach. Both Logans jumped to the ground, running to her._

_Logan rolled her over, and pressed his hand to her bleeding head as he shouted for help to the unlistening trees._

_He saw her wake up, looking up at the boy. "I'm fine, Logan, don't worry about it. Just a bruise."_

_"I knew something bad would happen, I shouldn't have let you come out here."_

_"I wanted to come out here. If you hadn't come with me, I would have been here by myself, and that would have been worse, don't you think?"_

_Logan followed a rain drop run from the girl's cheek, onto her lips. He pressed his lips to where the drop had stopped, and both of them closed their eyes._

_

* * *

  
_

_**Logan's lip was bloodied, though healing. His opponent had just as many wounds, but he didn't seem to be slowing down either. "She sure is a sexy little demon. Shame when you don't get to see her. I can't wait to get her all to myself," Sabretooth laughed.**_

_**Logan snarled, throwing another punch, missing him and stabbing the trunk of a tree. He turned and slashed with the other arm, sending great tufts of hair and spurts of blood to his feet. Soon enough he had his other arm free, but jumped and stared when he heard a gun shot. He saw Mariai lying on the ground, then saw Stryker take another shot with a stunning gun at John. Then saw him with his old shot gun in his other hand, the barrel staring right at the middle of Clara's forehead.**_

_**His head was immediatly smashed into the tree repeatedly. Turning he made a final stab at Sabretooth, hitting him square in the chest. He let out one last breath before falling foreward onto Logan. Logan pushed him away and stared back at where Clara was...had been just a moment before, to see a...what was that...a wolverine snarling and ripping at the man who had been holding the gun, though you couldn't truly call it a man now...not without his skin, and everything else intact.**_

_**"Clara!" Logan called, running for her.**_

_**She turned and snapped onto his leg when he got close to her, not knowing who it was. "Oh, Logan...I'm sorry.." she turned back and helped catch him slightly and help him to the ground. "Sorry...I thought you were someone else trying to get us...sorry..." she said, feeling really bad now.**_

_**"Don't worry about it darlin'. It doesn't hurt that bad now," she looked down and saw his wound had healed already, though his pants were caked in blood. "That's not all from you," he told her as he saw his expression. "Most of it's not from you," he added, motioning over to the dead mutant.**_

_**Clara shivered, "He scared me...ugh...nasty evil little--"**_

_**Logan pulled her down and kissed her fiercely, interupting her. "He doesn't matter anymore, he's dead, and I'm here. You're safe now baby."**_

_**Clara smiled, kissing his forehead gently. "I love you Logan."**_

_**"I love you too Claire. Now let's get these two out of the rain shall we? Though we're gonna need another car..."**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_Logan entered his english class half an hour late, as usual._

_"Logan, where were you?" asked the horse voiced, long-nosed teacher Mr. Williamson._

_"Does it matter? I'm here now, aren't I?" Logan sneered._

_"It's the first day of the semester, Logan."_

_Logan gave a loud yawn._

_"Fine, sit there by Miss Stryker," he pointed to a table with an empty seat._

_"Whatever..." he sat down, not even bothering to look at the girl next to him._

_"We were on page twelve," Mr. Williamson's eyes narrowed at the boy._

_"Whatever..." Logan flipped the book open, noticing how the girl next to him fidgeted. "I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" he asked quietly, completely sarcastic._

_She ran her hand through her long, brunette hair, holding it back to let her ocean blue eyes bore into him. "Don't talk to me."_

_Logan would have responded with a sharp retort that probably would have gotten him at least a detention, if not several, but he couldn't. Whatever it was in those eyes, he couldn't find his voice to argue. "Fine..."_

_The girl, this Miss Stryker, didn't like him. That much he could tell. But why? She didn't look like much of a teacher's pet type, so the fact he was a jerk shouldn't bother her so bad, she had shown she wasn't much of a saint either._

_"Stop looking at me," she hissed, writing in a notebook, not even looking up at him._

_"What's your name?"_

_"None of your buisness."_

_"You know mine."_

_"The teacher said it, I never asked for it," she glared at him for a second before turning back to her writing._

_"What are you writing?" he asked, trying to peek over her arm._

_She grabbed the paper, tore it out, and crumpled it up before he could see any of it. "None of your buisness."_

_She hated him! But why? Had he really done anything to her. He thought back to previous nights when he'd been either drunk or high. It was possible, but he would think that those eyes would have stayed with him. "Do I know you?"_

_"No," she answered, starting something on a new piece of paper._

_"...Are you positive?"_

_"Absolutely," she answered. "I never would have spent time with you, or speak to you, even if I had a chance."_

_"I've never come up and talked to you or anything? You look like somebody I would-"_

_"Don't. Start." She hissed, "I don't need some son of a bitch staring me up."_

_Nope, definetly not a saint. "Fine..."_

_As soon as the bell rang she was up and heading for the door. "Wait!" Logan called, racing after her. To his own surprise, she stopped and waited. He hadn't expected that, and now he couldn't think of anything to say to it._

_She stood there waiting for him to say something, her eyebrows raising as she fidgeted between feet, wanting to leave._

_"Um, what class do you have next?" he asked, then finally remembering his mistake, flinched._

_"School's over..." she rolled her eyes and started off again._

_"No! Wait!" he ran after her, grabbing her arm and turning her around. "Where're you going anyway?"_

_"I've got a boyfriend," she told him, trying to step around him. "And I'm going to meet him, thank you very much." She gave him a shove, moving around him finally._

_Again he grabbed her, pinning her to the lockers with a hand on either side of her head. "I don't know if I believe you..."_

_"Really? Cause he's coming down the hall now," she motioned with her eyes._

_He turned his head to look, seeing a group of boys heading their way, one with a death glare ready for him. "Your boyfriend seems to think he's pretty tough."_

_"He is...now if you would please-"_

_"Hey!" suddenly Logan felt a hand at the back of his shirt, yanking him back. "That's my girl you bastard."_

_"Your girl? I don't see your name on her anywhere," Logan hissed, pushing him away and readjusting his shirt over his shoulders._

_"Michael," Clara ran to him, stepping in between the two boys. "Let's just go, okay? We were gonna go see that movie right?"_

_"Clara...just let me talk to him for a minute, then we can go."_

_"Michael," Clara stepped in front of him again as he tried to get around her._

_Clara...so her name was Clara...at the moment, that was the only thing running through his head: Clara._

_"Fine, let's go..." he wrapped his arm over her shoulders possesively, turning to go._

_"He's cheating on you," Logan said quietly, so quietly none of the other's picked it up, but Clara had, to his surprise._

_"What?"_

_"Your 'boyfriend', Michael, he's cheating on you," Logan waited a moment, then raised his gaze to meet her's._

_"And what makes you think I cheated on her?" Michael snarled, but that alone was enough evidence. Instead of a straight out denial or apology, he wanted to know what evidence lay on the table._

_"I can smell it on you," Logan's gaze lingered on the girl before slowly sweeping over to the man with his arm still around her shoulders. "It wasn't too long ago by the scent of it."_

_Clara raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask, Michael spoke up again. "You son of a bitch," he threw a punch at his accusor, earning a gasp from Clara as Logan stumbled back, more in surprise than pain._

_"Michael!" Clara made to run for Logan when she saw the blood running from his lip._

_"Don't worry about it," Logan let out in a growl, wiping his lip once as he stood before getting awe stares as they watched it heal before there eyes. Logan wasn't sure what to do, up until now he had been able to hide it. Now this girl, whom didn't even give a damn for him, had forced it into showing. His gaze turned to her's angrily to find her face was the only one not in shock. Her eyes went from surprised to understanding as he watched her. "Clara..."_

_She watched him, her mouth pulling up into a smile. One hell of a smile, he couldn't help but add mentally. "You freak..." Michael let out. "Leave my girl alone, and give up on these nonsense accusations," he threatened, not making a move for him until his little gang had circled around him, leaving him no escape option._

_Logan didn't notice, his eyes were still connected with Clara's, everything else was a blur; that was until he felt something hard hit his leg and he was sent to the ground._

_"Stop it!" Clara yelled, running to stand in between him and Michael again, hoping that would stop the others. "Leave him alone," she growled._

_Logan heard something different in her voice. It wasn't the sweet ringing of bells he had first heard, but now a low growl. Not purely human, it sounded to animalistic to come from anyone's mouth, let alone her's._

_"Jes...Clara, get out of the way," he told her, but his face started turning red at the slip._

_"Jessica...is that what you were going to call me?"_

_"No...I don't know why I even thought that. I.."_

_"You thought it because you were with her right before coming here..." Logan growled._

_"Shut up, freak. You don't know what you're talking about."_

_Logan gave an in human snarl, raising the hair's on the back of Clara's neck as he stood, resting his hands on her shoulders to push her out of the way if he needed to. Tiny, bony like short claws worked their way out from between his knuckles. They were only a couple inches long, but just looking at them gave the pretend tough guy a fright. "Oh, I do to..."_

_Clara joined his snarl and Michael flinched as her pupils dilated suddenly._

_"What....what's going on here?"_

_"Leave Michael...now..." Clara's voice was thick and gravelly._

_"Fine bitch, you know, it's over between us," he told her as he started to back off, trying to save what was left of his pride with her._

_As he turned to leave he felt teeth sinking into his upper thigh and he yelled out in pain. He stared down at the black wolf who had his leg in a death grip. Yelling again, Clara heard other people coming, mostly teachers at this hour._

_Clara let him go, ignoring him as he fell to the ground. "Come on," Logan told her, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and almost throwing her ahead of him. The teachers were sure to know about him by the time they reached the screaming boy, and he had to get out of there as well._

_"This way," Clara said. He looked up to see her normal self running ahead of him again, shooting out a door before he could question it._

_They finally stopped once they reached the cornfields outside of town. Both were panting and Clara fell back onto the ground, sitting with her head against her knees. "Ohhhhhh no....no, no, no...dad's not gonna be happy about this...gonna have to go to another school...or maybe I won't go to a new school...that would be worse..." she was rocking herself back and forth, holding her knees._

_"Um...if you don't mind, can I talk to you now?"_

_Clara nodded. "Yeah. Sorry..."_

_"So...do you hate me?" he asked. It had been the only question rolling through his head the whole time they had ran. He completely missed anything she had said._

_"What? No..." she shook her head slightly. "He had warned me...this'll be all over the news. He's gonna kill me when he hears about this."_

_"Who?"_

_"My dad...he hates mutants," she answered simply._

_"Mutants?"_

_"Yeah...at least I assume that's why you can heal and have those...things," she ran her finger over her knuckles._

_"I didn't know there was a term for it...then again I didn't know there was another one..." his eyes darted up to her face._

_"One? No...many..." she corrected. "But my dad hates them...he likes to experiment on them. He hasn't done any on my brother and I...yet. I think he's going to try one on my brother here soon."_

_"Oh...so you don't hate me?"_

_"No...why?"_

_"You seemed to when I walked in and sat next to you today."_

_"You didn't like being there. I have to...well, had to, be there. It was my last choice of school before having to move to Canada or something. I've been kicked out of schools across the states, and had pretty much no where else to turn. I didn't want some guy with an attitude coming in and ruining it for me."_

_"Oh...you know..." he laid down on his side, propping himself up on his elbow in front of her. "Your boyfriend back there-"_

_"Ex-boyfriend," she corrected with a small grin._

_He saw the smile working up, and had to smile himself. "Okay, your ex-boyfriend back there, seemed to have more attitude in him than I did."_

_"I'm a poor judge of character," she shrugged._

_"Are you?"_

_"No. I've known he's been cheating on me for a while, I was waiting to get him back big later."_

_"Oh, sorry," he chuckled, and she joined in nervously. "So...where were you two gonna go anyway?"_

_"Oh, we were going to see a movie," she shrugged. "It's some whole horror, vampire people thing."_

_"Oh...we can still go...if you want?" he looked down at his fingernails as he spoke._

_"I think if we went, there would be people staring at us. Everyone from school probably already knows."_

_"Oh...okay..."_

_"But...if we don't move that is...maybe we can go when things die down a bit?" she asked, watching him._

_"Yeah...that'd be great..." he smiled down at his hands, watching them continue to shake. Why? He never got nervous. It didn't make sense. How could one have made him so shaky and nervous. Looking back up at her watching him, he just glimpsed into those eyes, and he had his answer._

_

* * *

  
_

_**He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her as they walked. "Where are the other two?"**_

_**"They're already on the jet."**_

_**"Oh. Hey, did we ever go see that movie?"**_

_**"What movie?" Clara asked, confused.**_

_**"The one you were gonna to see with that one guy when we first met. What was his name? Matthew?"**_

_**"Michael, I do believe. How did you-"**_

_**"I remembered," he grinned down at her.**_

_**"No, we never went to see the movie," Clara's eyes lit up.**_

_**"Maybe we should do that when we get back to the school..." Logan stopped her to give her a rough kiss. They didn't pull away until Scott and Storm both yelled at them. "Yeah, yeah. Coming!" Logan called, before looking back down at Clara. "And that necklace..." he pointed to it still around her neck, she smiled hopefully, "Still looks as beautiful on you as it did then."**_

_**Clara smiled, hugging him tightly, setting her head against her chest. When she felt his chin on his head she finally spoke up, "I love you Logan."**_

_**"I love you too, but we have to go Clara." Clara nodded and he swooped her up, carrying her onto the plane.**_

_**"I hate planes..." Clara told him as he set her down in a chair and she started buckling herself in.**_

_**"So do I," Logan told her, chuckling. "Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to ask you too."**_

_**"What's that?"**_

_**"When we get back, I don't ever want to lose you again..." he traced her face where the scars were now perfectly visible, kissing down the center one with so much care Clara closed her eyes and was unable to find words. "Please tell me you feel the same..."**_

_**"Logan, I spent eight years trying to find you...I would never let us be seperated again, ever," she told him, raising an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out what he was saying.**_

_**"I don't have a ring yet, but..." he saw Clara's eyes sparkle as recognition hit her. "Would you marry me?"**_

_**"Yes!" she squealed, kissing him again, gaining the attention of several others on the plane...Professor Xavier just laughed.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

Logan smiled, it wasn't much to remember, but they're all he had. And considering them, he couldn't very well complain. He rolled over, the sheet half off of him as he lazily laid his arm across his fiancé's sid, his head coming to rest on the back of her shoulder. "Morning Clara."

Clara moaned quietly, "It's too early, go back to sleep."

He chuckled, leaning over and kissing her neck lightly, after brushing her hair out of the way.

Clara smiled, "No, stop it, that tickles," she told him, her eyes still closed. He did it again with a smirk, and she laughed. "Fine, I'm up..." she yawned. "Have to go work again today..." she sighed.

"It's what you get for becoming a teacher."

"Remind me again why I signed up for that."

"Cause you love kids."

She froze for a second, but recovered quickly, "Yeah...that must be..." she got up quickly and went to get ready. 


	2. Uhoh

**Chapter 1: Uh-oh**

Logan followed her to get some breakfast, watching her. She had been acting strange all day, and she refused to tell him why. "What do you want Claire?" he asked, sitting her down.

"I was just gonna get cereal."

"What do you want?" he asked again, smiling a little.

She smiled back, "Um...pancakes?"

He nodded, making some.

"Hey guys." David Areséne walked into the kitchen with them. He was almost as tall as Logan, no where near as muscular. He was, as all the other women and girls in the school said, perfect none the less. His dark brown hair seemed to flow in ripples around his head, and his grin sent any girl to her knees.

Except Clara. "Hi David," she greeted.

Logan let out a tiny growl, he hated the guy. He could literally charm anyone in the school, it being his power. "What do you want?"

"I smelled food."

"There's not enough for you."

Clara always thought it was funny. Though she never made any open move to encourage the other man, she always chatted with him because it made Logan jealous. He was funny when he was jealous. "Aw Logan, he can have one or two."

Logan growled again, shoving a plate into his hands.

Clara chuckled, "What are you doing up so early?"

"I've got a class early today. What about you?"

"I do too. I'm running fighting simulations all day."

"Can you handle fighting all day?" he asked, his beautiful, golden eyes sparkling up at her.

Clara tried not to laugh. "Of course I can."

"Well, color me impressed."

"How about stay-away-from-my-girl red instead? It's one of my favorites," Logan snapped.

"Logan," Clara scolded lightly, taking her plate from him.

"Should I go?" He asked Clara, glancing up at Logan nervously.

"You don't have-"

"Yes, you should," Logan cut her off.

"Okay then..." he put his plate in the sink and left, of course he couldn't leave without a wink Clara's way.

Clara waved even as Logan snarled at him, making him run. "Why do you have to do that?"

"I don't like him."

"Why not?"

"Trying to charm you like that, it's disgusting," he made a face.

"Aw, don't be like that," she stood up and hugged him lightly. "How could he charm me with you standing here?"

He relaxed and smirked, "Well now, I hadn't thought about that."

"Exactly," she laughed and kissed him lightly. "Now I have to go, so I'll see you later, kay?"

"Alright darling, have fun beating up people."

"Oh, I will," she assured, going to meet her class.

* * *

"About time," Mariai sighed.

"Sorry, I was having breakfast." Clara responded. "You ready?"

"Yeah, the kids are inside."

Clara nodded, going in to see John, Bobby, Marie and Colosus. "Everyone ready to go?"

They all nodded, and Mariai started the program. Everywhere were mutants and machines, ready to kill anything in sight.

John and Bobby ran in and fought with a teleporter. Once within sight, Bobby froze him and John blasted it to pieces.

Marie had been given a hand gun, which she wasn't allowed to carry in school of course.

Mariai had her sword, preferring close combat as she would fall through the floor and come up behind, slashing a guy's throat out. Then of course Colosus was punching and throwing anything he found.

Clara fought some too, but she was mostly supervising. This was their last "exam" before becoming X-men. They had fought for almost an hour and finally Clara had to stop them, knowing they wouldn't just stop themselves. "Alright, go see the Professor."

"Does this mean we pass?" John asked excitedly.

"The Professor gets final say...but I'm pretty sure you do," she nodded, smiling as grins formed on their faces.

Bobby and John high-fived before Bobby hugged Marie.

"Now go," she shooed them off.

Mariai smiled, "Does that mean I have to be done fighting?"

"Not at all, go to town," she gave the green light, joining her friend until another class kicked them out.

"Storm," Clara called, seeing her leaving her classroom. "What's going on?" Since their previous disagreements, Clara and Storm had become pretty close. Storm could deal with Clara's moody bluntness, and Clara put up with her teaching strategies. It helped them quite a bit.

"The professor want us. Apparently there's a new runaway that's shown up."

"Oh, alright. Why does he want all of us?" Storm shrugged, leading the way to Xavier's office.

Clara sat down in the office as they waited for everyone else to show up. Of course Jean and Scott were there, David just walked in, and of course Logan was last. "Hey love," he greeted, kissing her quickly.

"Another runaway showed up at our mansion the other night," the Professor started.

"There are a lot that do that, sir."

"I know, but this one is...a special case..." They all looked up as there was a knock on the door and an eight-year-old boy stuck his head in.

"You told me to come back here sir."

"Come on in Tyler," the Professor responded.

The boy sat in the chair that Xavier indicated, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Have any of you met him before?" he asked, his eyes scrutinizing Clara and Logan.

"No," Logan shook his head.

Clara just shook her head, looking back at the boy.

"He's got a healing power like Logan's and-"

"Sweet!" Logan responded, high-fiving the boy, who smiled at the outburst.

Xavier cleared his throat, "And, can turn into animals."

Clara met the Professor's eyes, which seemed to bore into her. "That is special," she replied in a harsh tone. "So what do you want us to do?"

"Nothing," Xavier said and the kid blushed a little, shifting nervously. "Just thought you'd like to see him."

"Nice to meet you Tyler," she told the boy, overly nice to make up for her outburst a second ago. Before anyone said anything else however, she left. No one bothered to follow, all just as shocked as the next.


	3. Emotions

**Chapter 2: Emotions**

Logan blinked, looking between Mariai and Storm. They both shrugged. "Professor?" he asked, hoping he had picked up on something.

"You should talk to her," was all Xavier replied.

Shaking his head he ran after Clara, surprised she had made it back to their room so fast. "Clara...what was that?" He wasn't sure if he should be angry or not.

"I'm...sorry..." she sighed, rubbing her face. She had found her cozy place up on the windowsill, looking out at the grounds outside. Logan could smell the tears from across the room. "I was surprised..."

"What's going on love?" he asked, softening a bit at the tears.

She sniffled, "I-I don't wanna talk about it..."

"...is he...is he our kid?" he asked hesitantly.

"Logan, please?" she begged. "I don't want to think about it."

"Well I do!" He snapped, being confused didn't settle well with him. "Having both of our powers can't be just a coincidence."

"Please Logan," she cried quietly, her face buried in her hands.

He growled dangerously and Clara heard the slashing sound of his claws sliding out of his skin. Clara shivered, looking at him as he angrily slashed through the mattress on the bed before laying down on it, not saying anything else.

"Logan...?" she asked quietly, but he didn't answer and just rolled over, going to sleep.

* * *

Clara had tried to sleep next to him for a while, but just couldn't bear it anymore. Her eyes finally dry from running out of tears, she left the room. Heading down to see if she could find a midnight snack to settle her stomach, she found David reading and drinking what looked like tea. "You're up a little late, aren't ya?"

"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged, setting his book down. "You?"

She sighed, "Same..." and went hunting for something to eat.

"Here," he sat her down and fixed her some tea. "You had a long day it seemed."

"Well, it didn't go as planned."

"I figured," he handed her a steaming cup.

"Thanks," she took a sip, making a face. "That tastes...weird."

"Honey, my mom use to put it in my tea when I wasn't feeling well, it helped put me to sleep."

"Oh, well..." she didn't know exactly what to say, so just took another sip. Making another surprised face, she set the cup on the table.

"You don't like it?"

"I figure it needs a highly acquired taste," she replied.

"Ah, sorry."

"It's okay, it's better than some of the meals I've had of late."

"Yeah...Logan's pancakes weren't all that great this morning."

She chuckled, "Well, I told him he was a bad cook once, and he felt bad and went overboard trying to fix the problem. I think all the cigar smoking ruined his tastebuds, because it still doesn't taste very good. But I don't have the heart to tell him again."

He smiled, "So you put up with it?"

"I usually try to have boxed stuff, unless I'm cooking."

"Well, alright," he nodded, then looked back at his cup.

"Are you okay?"

"Why don't my powers work on you?" he asked, glancing up at her again. "Why don't you fall for me like everyone else does?"

"Um, well I don't know. Maybe it's because I've already fallen for Logan," she suggested.

"Other people with boyfriends fall for me. Even married woman have fallen under my spell."

"I don't know, I can't answer that," she replied, taking her tea and sipping at it again. Now that she was prepared for the taste, it didn't taste that bad. She took another, larger sip.

"Oh...well maybe if I tried harder..." Clara looked up at him a little nervously and saw his eyes glisten beautifully. His smile turned up and assured her of safety only few could bring. The way his face seemed to light up made her feel like he was really seeing her, and was mesmerized by her. If they hadn't been interupted, she would have ran straight into his arms right there.

"Maybe she's just not interested," Logan snapped from the doorway. Clara hadn't had the chance to even get up yet, and the gravelly voice jolted her out of the spell.

"Logan...you're awake."

"I figured you didn't want to talk to this sleeze bag anymore."

Clara's mouth dropped, "Logan, what the hell?" It was a simple question that summed her thoughts up nicely.

"Come back to bed," he told her, trying hard not to make it an order.

Clara narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Clara..." his voice lowered to an almost inaudible growl. "Don't push me right now."

"I'm not a pet you can just order around. I am your fiancé, you can ask nicely."

"Clara, come back to bed...please..." the please wasn't much of a question.

"That wasn't asking," she snapped, but he grabbed her arm and shoved her ahead of him. "Hey! Ow, Logan!" she tried to get away from his tight grip.

He didn't let go until they were back in their room. He threw her down on the bed, she yelped in response. "Why were you talking to him?"

"I had went down for a snack because I was tired of being ignored up here. He was down there already, so we got to chatting."

"If you would have talked to me, I wouldn't have ignored you. And you would have started making out with him if I hadn't stepped in."

"That's not true."

"I saw how you were looking at him. He's finally got you broken in now. All he has to do is flash you a smile."

She turned bright red. "I'm sorry his mutant power actually works. Cause I have complete control over that," she stated sarcastically.

"Don't start, you know how I feel about him."

"Yeah, you get jealous," she replied harshly.

She heard his jaw slam together, his eyes bearing into her. "I don't want him taking you."

"Taking me where Logan? Name once, other than right then, that I actually chose to do anything with him over you. Name one!"

He growled, "Are you going to talk to me about this kid thing or not?"

"When the hell did we get onto that topic?"

"Are you?"

"No! Especially not now!"

"Clara-"

"No, just forget it, please..." she rubbed her face, still furious and on the verge of tears.

"My might-be-kid is in this very building, and I had no idea he even existed! Did I know before I lost my memory even?!"

"No..." she did start crying now, and once she started she just couldn't stop.

"Clara..." he sighed, sitting down next to her and hugging her lightly, letting her head rest on his shoulder, her tears wetting the bare skin there.

"Please? I don't want to talk about it..." she whimpered.

"Alright...not tonight anyway," he told her. Clara sniffed and nodded, it was the best she could ask for at the moment. "Okay, go back to sleep Claire, I'll be right here."

She nodded, laying down silently as he laid next to her. She cuddled up to him tightly and he pulled her against him, holding her there and stroaking her back until she fell asleep.


	4. Clubbing

**Chapter 3: Clubbing**

Clara woke to find she was alone. As the previous day's events returned to her mind, she couldn't much blame him. Muttering, she went to take a shower and get ready to work. "Why the hell did I become a teacher anyway?" she asked herself quietly, the thought returning to her quite often as of late. After getting dressed she put the make-up over the scars on her face, looking up as she heard someone coming in. "Logan?" she peaked out of the bathroom, seeing no one there. She rolled her eyes, turning back to the mirror. "Gah!"

"Morning," Mariai grinned. "Scare you?"

"Hush," she made a face, pushing her out of the way so she could finish covering the scars. "Oh...do you know where Logan went...by any chance?"

"I thought you said hush."

"Mariai..."

"Okay," she sighed. "He left about an hour ago. Said he wouldn't be back until tonight...why?"

"No reason..." she replied, hesitating a second as she felt bad for him not telling her that he was leaving. "I just didn't know where he was."

"He didn't tell you?"

"Probably didn't wanna wake me up. You know how he is," she shrugged.

"True. So we only have like two classes today. In the morning. I say we go out tonight, out for dinner, see a movie, you know."

"Um...that sounds really great actually. Let's do that," Clara nodded.

"Okay, sweet. Oh, and David's looking for you."

"Great..."

"What?"

"Just...will you come with me?" Clara asked, a little nervous to be alone with him again.

"Sure," she nodded, waiting for Clara to put her stuff away and then pulling her out of the room.

"Oh...hi David..." Clara smiled a bit, having tried to sneak her way down the hallway, only to have him spot her practically instantly.

"Hey...so Logan left huh?"

"Yeah...how'd you know about that already?"

"I ran into him on his way out. He looked like he was in a hurry though."

"Oh, yeah he forgot he had to go pick up some stuff...our wedding's coming up after all."

"Yes, right...that's when again?" he asked, his smile slipping a bit.

"About two weeks."

"Ah...well I wish you the best of luck," he flashed a smile and Clara felt like Mariai for a moment, falling through the floor.

"Oh, thanks..." it wasn't until he walked away that she finally got the sense to question what the luck was for.

"He's adorable," Mariai fawned over him. "I'm gonna marry him you know."

"Uh-huh," Clara shook her head, going to her first class...only to see little Tyler sitting in the front row and getting picked on by some of the older kids. "Hey!" she snapped. "Leave the kid alone."

"Aww, come on miss, he's a newbie."

"Fresh meat."

"Enough!" Clara yelled. "Go to your own classroom."

They knew better than to question and took off.

"You okay?" she asked Tyler, squatting down until she was on eye level with him.

"Yeah...they took my pencil..." he mumbled quietly.

"Here," she took one out of the drawer in her desk and gave it to him.

"Thank you miss..." he was trying to be polite, but didn't know her last name.

"Stryker...but most people just call me Clara."

"Okay..."

"Ready for English class?" she asked, grinning.

"I don't like reading..."

"Aww...well hopefully you will soon," she smiled. "What was the last book you read?"

"I don't know..."

"You don't...come on, tell me something you read." She watched him look down at the table and nervously play with the pencil as it rolled repeatedly down the desk. Blinking, she figured it out. "Tyler...can you read?"

He stared down more, not answering.

"See me after class, okay," she told him. "We'll work something out, okay?"

He nodded, but then Clara had to start class. Turning to all the little kids she started teaching them the new grammar lesson, the difference between "your" and "you're."

Tyler stayed after, as Clara had asked. Once the others were gone, Clara went over and sat next to him. He avoided her gaze. "Hey, you know you don't have to feel bad about it. We'll get you all caught up in no time, okay?" he didn't answer. "Come early to class tomorrow, and I'll start helping you, okay?"

"Fine..." he muttered, getting up and leaving.

Clara sighed, going to get ready for her upper level English.

* * *

"Finally, your classes last forever!" Mariai sighed, all dressed up for a night on the town. Adorned in a deep, red t-shirt that accentuated her features, along with black skinny jeans and black, open-toed heels.

"Yeah, I know," Clara replied, going to change. She had bought a dress a while back and was excited to wear it. It was a medium dark blue, going to just above her knee, and halter top. That and her silver, sandled-heels and she was set.

Mariai checked her makeup a bit before leading the way to the car. Mariai had come across a new Mercedes a few weekends prior. No one quite knew where she had gotten it seeing as she was only on a teacher's salary.

They turned the music up nice and loud before streaking out of the garage and down the street. Mariai pulled up near a club she had found not too long ago that she really seemed to like. Seeing as how she was still single, she saw nothing wrong with it. Clara on the other hand was a little hesitant. "Um...Mariai...I don't know if..."

"What? You can take care of yourself can't ya? And anyone who tries anything will have to deal with me. After you of course," she grinned.

Clara chuckled, finally giving in and following. The music blared, the room was musky. All around people were dancing, flirting and trying to get attention from everyone else.

Mariai went straight up and sat at the bar, Clara following after dodging a couple dancers. "If Logan were ever to find out I was here..." she trailed off, leaving it at that.

"What's he gonna do? Come down and beat everyone here up?"

"No...but your life may be on the line."

"Psh, I could take him," she ordered them a couple of drinks, winking at some guys across the bar.

An hour in and both of them were buzzed. Clara laughed at something a guy next to her said before looking up and seeing one of the two faces that could make this entire trip a disaster. Out of the two, she would have rather had Logan...David came in and looked around at all the people in the bar. Several women stopped what they were doing and eyed him over. He finally took notice of Clara and Mariai sitting there and came over, grinning radiantly.

"Hi David," Mariai told him, flirting.

"Mariai, Clara...what are you two doing here?"

"Taking a night out," Clara replied, laughing even though it wasn't funny.

"Oh, need a break from old tough guy huh?"

"Ah no, no way...why, what are you planning on telling him?"

Mariai laughed this time. "Woo...I need to go dance this off..." she grabbed David's hand and pulled him out to dance with him.

Every time Clara glanced over at them she found David staring back at her. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew she wanted to be Mariai at the moment, dancing out there with him. She ordered herself another drink, downing it quickly before going to intercept them. Mariai found another partner quickly, and Clara got her dance with David.

Once the dance was over, David wrapped his arms around her and leaned in, whispering in her ear. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"Well we could...no. No, I think I should get back," she said quickly, snapping to reality and pulling away from him. "Logan should be back by now, and he'll be wondering where I am."

"Will he, you sure?"

"I...yes...yes I am," she nodded confidently, scurrying off to find Mariai. "We need to go."

"But I'm having fun..and we can't very well drive back right now."

"Fine..." she sighed, going outside to call a cab.

Once it arrived she slipped back in, grabbing Mariai, who was dancing with another guy she just met, and dragging her with into the cab.

* * *

Logan was pacing the bedroom, he could smell heavy doses of perfume around the room, and knew she had probably gone out. Usually she was back before now though. He looked at the clock again: 1:37. She was always back early when she had to work the next day. His mind wandered to what she could be doing at the moment, and instantly David popped up into his mind. Snarling to himself he stomped out of the room, running into Scott. "Have you seen Clara come back yet?"

"No..."

"Why are you up anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

"Mariai, seen her?" Logan didn't much care what he was out doing at the moment, he just wanted to find Clara.

"No..."

"Is...David still here?" he asked warily, the name coming out like a nasty bile.

"Um...actually I think he went out to a club or something...why?"

Logan growled quietly, pushing past Cyclopes and going down to the garage, finally hearing a car. He waited as Clara and Mariai came in, yelling thanks over their shoulders at the receding cabbie.

Clara looked up and froze upon seeing Logan. "Um...hi love."

"Where were you?" he asked, too calmly.

"We went clubbing!" Mariai declared proudly. "You missed out," she laughed, going up to her room.

"I'm uh...tired. Can we go up to our room?" Clara asked nervously. Her arm still hurt from where he had grabbed her the previous night, and didn't want it hurting again.

"Was it just the two of you?"

"What? Yeah, why?"

"David wasn't there?" he nearly spat out.

"...he was there, but he didn't come with us...Logan, you don't really think I'd-"

"You've got his scent all over you," he strode forward, grabbing her and sniffing at her hair.

"So we danced one dance, and then Mariai and I left," she blinked up at him and noticed there was a tiny spark of hurt in his eyes. "Logan, I would never-"

"You're tired right? Let's get you to bed, it's late," he took her hand and lead her back to their room.

"Logan," once there, she stepped in front of him, kissing him deeply. A kiss he didn't return. "I love you honey. I would never do anything to hurt you, or to jeopardize what we have. It was just a dance, and then I left immediately afterwards."

"Fine..." he replied, going to sit on the bed.

Clara sighed, going to sit next to him. She reached over and took his hand gently, running her thumbs over his knuckles. She brought his hand up, resting her cheek on it.

He finally looked at her, "Clara, I-"

"Did you want to know about Tyler?" she asked warmly.

"...you mean...you'll tell me?"

"If you want me to,' she nodded, swallowing a bit.

**So here's the thing, I have gotten one review after all these chapters. Personally I think my writing in this one is better than my last one. I want it known that the more reviews I get, the faster I update. Tell me what you like, tell me something I should work on (nicely please ^_^). If you want to know what's up with Tyler, I need at least three more reviews. I hate to do it, but it gets frustrating after a while. ^_^ So please review!**


	5. Explanations

**Chapter 4: Explanations**

He waited for her to go on. He knew if he pushed her, she might chicken out.

Clara took a few deep breaths to keep her voice steady as she stared at their joined hands. "It was...we were nineteen. We had obviously...you know," she swallowed and relaxed a little as Logan wrapped his arm around her. "Well I...I had gotten pregnant, and I freaked, and I had gone to see you, and..."

As she continued to explain, Logan started to remember:

_He was in a group of his buddies from school, smoking a joint. They were at his house, and Logan had made sure that it was going to be a night when Clara would be out of town, so she wouldn't know. There was a knock on the door, and Logan growled. He wasn't supposed to be anyone coming by, so he opened it up angrily, and then freaked. _

_"Clara...what are you doing here?"_

_"Logan, I need you, please," she was crying, and pale. It wasn't until he stepped outside with her that she saw the rolled up stick in his hand. "Logan...are you high?"_

_"What did you want Clara?" Being high didn't much agree with him, he wasn't nice before hand, he was even worse now._

_"I'm...I'm pregnant..."_

_"So what's the problem?"_

_"Did you not hear me?" she asked, blinking. "I'm PREGNANT!"_

_"So get rid of it."_

_"Logan, I can't do that...I can't."_

_"So what do you want me to do?" he asked, taking another drag from his joint._

_She blinked, yanking the thing straight from his mouth and throwing it on the ground, stomping on it. "You promised."_

_"Promised what?" he asked smugly._

_"You got me pregnant!" she yelled at him, trying to get through that huge "high cloud" and get him to understand._

_"Hey, you're as much to blame as I am."_

_She slapped him. "Fine...fine! I hope you like your little buddies in there, because from this point on, they are all you have!" she slapped him again before leaving._

_"You know, that was expensive!" he yelled after her, looking down at his now useless pot-stick. "Damn," he shook his head, rubbing his jaw before going back inside to get himself another._

_

* * *

_

"Clara...I..." he blinked. "So...I take it you didn't get an abortion."

"No, no I didn't."

"But then, what happened? I thought we had been going out longer than that."

"We did, yes. We got back together over a year later."

"So, what did you do?"

Again, as she explained, the memory came back to him:

_He had woken in a frenzy, now that he wasn't still suffering the effects of his high, and as soon as he remembered what had happened the night before, he rushed off to Clara's house._

_Knocking roughly, he waited until Jason opened the door. "Where's Clara?"_

_"What do you care? You two broke up, didn't ya?"_

_"Jason, please, I need to talk to her."_

_"I think you need to shower first," Jason commented._

_"Whatever, where is she?"_

_"Didn't she tell you? She's gone on vacation with that new friend of her's."_

_"How long has she been planning that?" he asked, trying to remember her talking about it. He vaguely remembered her saying something about it, but he probably hadn't been listening at the time._

_"For like, over a month."_

_"But it's a vacation you said, so she should be home in what? Three weeks? Four?"_

_"Vacation isn't really the word, it's some kind of private school, but apparently there's a lot of parties, which is apparently why Mariai wanted to go."_

_"So when will she be back?"_

_"Almost a year."_

_"What? But she's...what's her number? I need to reach her."_

_Jason rolled his eyes and wrote a number down on a piece of paper, giving it over._

_"Thanks," Logan left, taking out his cell phone and calling the number. "Hi, is Clara Stryker in yet?"_

_"No sir, she isn't scheduled to fly in for about another seven hours."_

_"What? Where is this?"_

_"Spain, sir. I can have her call you back when arrives."_

_"That's okay, I'll call back later."_

_"Alright sir."_

_~~Ten hours later~~~_

_"Sir, is Clara there now?" Logan asked. It was nearly one in the morning for Logan, and he was desperate to talk to her._

_"Um, let's see...she's at her hotel I believe, she just called here and I have the number, if you'd like it."_

_"Yes! Please!" Logan wrote it down and immediately called it. "Clara! Thank God, I've been trying to get a hold of you all-Mariai?"_

_"She doesn't want to talk to you, you son of a bitch. Hang up before I start making plans for your immediate death._

_"Please Mariai, I __**need**__ to speak with her."_

_He hear the phone being moved around and some muffled whispers. "Fine."_

_"Logan?" Clara asked weakly._

_"Clara, listen I am really sorry. If you can come back, we can deal with this whole baby thing, okay? I'll take care of you, I promise I'll-"_

_"It's too late Logan...there is no baby now." Clara informed, her sobs perfectly identifiable from his side of the line._

_"What?" he asked, blinking, nearly crying with her. "Clara, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to...I hadn't thought that..."_

_"That I'd be back there so late? Yeah, I figured," she snapped. "Listen, if your drugs are more important than me and YOUR OWN CHILD, whether you wanted it or not, then that's fine with me. You go ahead."_

_"No, Clara I-"_

_"I don't care. I can find someone else who's priorities better match mine."_

_"Clara! Wait, please, I-" but she had already hung up. Logan closed his phone, waiting a moment before throwing it with a furious yell, watching as it smashed against the side of his apartment. "Dammit..." he fell to the ground in his room, holding his face in his hands as he gave up trying to hold back his emotions, just letting the tears run out._

_

* * *

_

"So, you did lie to me?" he asked, the memory hitting him hard, like it had just happened again and the emotions built up in him again. He refused to cry however, he didn't want Clara to see him cry.

"Can you really blame me?" she asked, blinking. "Logan, if I had just come back you would have tried to get me to have an abortion, and then nothing would have changed. You'd still be sneaking joints behind my back."

He sighed, nodding. "I am sorry Clara..."

She nodded, starring at her hands. "So, instead of going to the prestigious party-private school, Mariai helped me through my pregnancy, and we gave Tyler to a family that wanted to adopt."

"Did you name him?" he asked, blinking up at her.

"Yeah, it sounded like a name that you might pick," Clara nodded, rubbing her wet cheeks.

"Clara, I am so sorry." He was really starting to hate the person he had been. Couldn't even stay with her while she was bearing his own child. Not even giving a damn when she came to him for help. "I...is there anything I can do?"

"It's a little late now, isn't it?" she snapped quickly.

"Anything Claire, just name it."

"I didn't even get to see my son grow up," she bit fiercely. "I didn't get to hold him when he cried, sit with him while he was sick, teach him to walk, to talk, to tie his shoes. I had to miss it so that you wouldn't make me kill him! And you think you can just make that up to me?"

"Well...we...I don't know what happened to his parents, but we can help him now. He doesn't know what's going on with this whole mutant thing. And...we can always have another kid...if that's something you would want..."

"They aren't replaceable collectors items Logan! And no, you are to stay away from him."

"Woah, wait. Why? Don't I have a right to get to know my son?"

"No, it's your fault this all happened."

"So I was a dumb ass EIGHT YEARS AGO! You know me, Clara. You know I'd never do it to you now."

"Yeah, but I..." she sighed, dropping her head into her hands and sobbing.

"Please Clara, I don't remember it back then, but over a year without you is pretty punishment enough, don't you think?" he asked softly. "And now I'm just learning that I have an eight year old son, and that I never took care of you and never helped you when you needed me. Claire, I can't even begin to explain how guilty I am. And I'm sure I won't ever forget it either.

"Fine...fine," she growled, sobbing again before standing up and heading for the door. "Do what you want," she stated.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business," she snapped before leaving. Logan heard Mariai's door open and then shut again.

"Dammit..." he swore, laying down on his bed, knowing no sleep was coming for him that night.

**So again, I am asking for reviews please. No, I did not get three reviews on the last chapter, actually I've been getting more people reading my other story, oddly. Maybe it's just cause it's the first, or maybe not. I do not know. However, sadly I do like to write, and so a number of reviews is kind of an empty threat. However, I have had this all in my head for months, and would have posted it much faster if I HAD gotten those three reviews. So, if I get more reviews again, I will do two things. 1) update much faster. 2) I will post your names here and comment on them, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Okay, so please write me reviews. Here are three questions you can at least answer, in just listing if you want. 1) Who's your favorite character and why? 2) Any HELPFUL comments on my writing? 3) Are there any subplots you want me to consider? 4) (optional) Any questions for me?**

00 BodySnatcher-I know you reviewed a couple chapters back, but I'm gonna say thank you anyways. And yes, I love Logan. He's fun to put in stories because, even though he acts all tough in the movies and what not, you can see just a hint of a highly moody character. He's amazing.

Mariai-We'll see about that David thing :P By the way, now that I'm thinking about it, write more of your story!

Psycho-Bunny1309-Thank you. And yeah, I really want to get going on this story, but the lack of reviews is discouraging. But, I intend to keep going anyway, so I can't very well make any threats, right? ^_^ Anyway, yes, thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it.


	6. Creeper

**Chapter 5: Creeper**

Clara didn't even bother going back to get her clothes in the morning. Instead, she borrowed some of Mariai's.

"So what are _you_ gonna do about Tyler anyway?" Mariai asked her as they were both getting ready for the day.

"I don't know…he's still my son…but I feel like I missed out on a lot of the special moments with him…I can't just get those back."

"Maybe not…but there are others he still hasn't come to yet. Aren't you working on one with him right now? With the whole reading thing?"

"Well yeah but…I don't know."

"Listen, I was there with you the entire time this stuff went down. Believe me, if I hadn't been in Spain at the time, he'd be more spine-less than he already was. But he does love you, you know that right?"

"Of course I do. I'm marrying him aren't I?"

"I know, but that doesn't necessarily prove anything. Claire, he loves you, and he wants to make it up to you."

"How does he even start to make up for that?"

"By being there for you now, and standing by you in everything you do. Supporting you and talking it out with you when it's needed."

"He was my son Mariai."

"And he still is, right? So make it up to the kid first. Tyler is his too though, maybe he's finally mature enough to be a father," Mariai shrugged. "If not, then maybe it's best you know now anyway."

She sighed, "I don't know, I still hate him for it…I just can't get past it, you know?"

"Well, it was suppressed for so long, now that it's resurfaced it might feel that way, but work through it. You know he's worth that much to you."

She sighed, "We'll see, okay?"

"Kay, have a nice day."

Clara nodded before heading out for work.

Tyler had come in early, like instructed, looking as out of place as he had the day before. "Hi Miss Stryker."

"Clara, please Tyler."

He nodded a little.

"Come here, I got some stuff for you to work on," she replied, digging in her desk for a few papers. "Do you know your alphabet?"

"You mean, like the song?"

She smiled, he really was adorable. "Yes, exactly."

"Then yeah."

"Well those are the letters that make up words…do you know what they look like?"

He shook his head. "No ma'am."

"Well, you're about to learn a few," she smiled, giving him some worksheets to teach him to write the different letters, telling him what they sounded like and even teaching him a few, simple words. "There, you're getting it. Do these tonight and bring them back early tomorrow, okay?" she asked, giving him a few practice sheets.

"Okay…thank you," he secretly beamed up at her, not wanting to show how grateful he really was.

She returned his smile; pretty sure some harmonious chord had just been strummed in her chest. "Well, we're gonna have to start class…why don't you go find your seat," she told him as others filed in. She looked up just in time to see Logan peering in, looking about as hurt and angry as she had ever seen him.

Logan left, going to the garage and hopping on his motorcycle before shooting out. He needed to get away, in case he decided to break down. He didn't need Clara seeing that.

Clara sighed and taught the rest of her classes for the day. When he still hadn't returned that evening she began to worry. She sat on the hood of one of the cars in the garage, just waiting for him to come back.

The garage door opened and she got all excited…until she saw who it was. "Hi David…just popping up everywhere aren't ya," she mumbled quietly.

"Hey, sorry I had to go get groceries…what are you doing down here?"

She knew she should have brushed him off, but she wanted to talk to _somebody_. "Waiting for Logan…"

"Oh, where'd he go?" he asked, setting his bags down on the hood of the car next to her so he could talk with her.

"He…had to run out and get some stuff."

"Oh, well is he that late?"

"…kind of…"

"You wanna go look for him? If you wait for me to put my stuff away, we can go drive around and search for him."

She sighed, "That's okay, and I'll just go find him." She grabbed Scott's bike, not bothering with a helmet, and rushing out. The wind rushing in her face helped her sniff him out. She knew what his bike smelled like and she followed the trail.

She followed it to a small lake in the middle of nowhere. He obviously heard her coming, motorcycles were pretty loud to those with normal hearing. But he made no move to acknowledge her presence. Clara sighed, biting her lip before heading over to him.

After changing, she tapped his shoulder with her wolf snout and gave a small whine.

"Don't Claire."

She couldn't help it at the moment, this was her normal form when she felt this guilty. It just felt better. She laid next to him, resting her head in his lap and perking her ears up at him.

He sighed, finally resting his hand on her fur and stroking it softly. "It's not fair you know…to keep him from me when you get to see him and help him everyday."

She whined again before changing back and just sitting next to him. "I know it's not," she replied, taking his hand. "I realized that today while I was working with him…you're better than you were back then. It's just that when I saw him everything came rushing back to me. All the thoughts and emotions…the long nine months without you…I was angry to see that he was so grown up and jealous that I hadn't been around for any of it. I needed a scapegoat, because I wanted someone else to pay like I had…and that's not fair."

He sighed, looking over at her. "I really do feel bad Clara, and I will make it up to you the best I can. I know it'll never be enough, and I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did, but I'm gonna try. But I want to get to know him too. I didn't take responsibility for him then, but I want to now."

She nodded a little, "I understand. And I'm gonna try really hard not to snap or anything, because I do love you. I feel really bad when I make you feel bad."

He smiled, kissing her forehead, "Thank you Clara. Should we get home now?"

She nodded, "It's getting cold out."

He chuckled, "That it is. Want my jacket?"

"No, I'll be okay until we get back…we could just leave Scott's bike here and I could ride with you…it'd be fun to see Scott blow up and try to find it…"

"Oh lord do I love you," he laughed. "Alright Come o-"

"Well, look at that, you found him." David smirked after getting out of his car. "Was just coming to look for you."

"I told you I could find him myself," she stated.

Logan snarled a bit, "So go back to the school David, before you can't."

"I wouldn't be threatening me, Logan, if I were you," he snapped back.

Clara blinked, "What's going on David?"

"You don't remember me at all, do ya? I get a new haircut, a little face rearrangement, and I'm totally unrecognizable to you," he stated spitefully.

She narrowed her eyes, letting his scent hit her nose. Her eyes burst open, "Sam…"

"There you go."

"Sam…Sam?" Logan asked, totally confused. He knew the name, and the guy he hallucinated during his experiment, but what was he exactly.

"Don't let it surprise you. My powers never worked on you. Don't you see it? We were meant to be with each other."

"Ha!" she snapped, hate bubbling through every pore of her being. "If that were true, you wouldn't have had to follow me home or call me at three in the morning just to talk to me for two seconds. You're a creeper, and I have a restraining order against you."

"_Had_ a restraining order. It's not in effect anymore, I took care of that. Not that it much matters now, because you will be coming with me. So get in my car, now."

"No way Creep."

"Get out of here Areséne," Logan growled, letting go of Clara's hand so he could unleash his claws.

"Again, you don't want me to do that. That little boy of yours, what's his name? Tommy, Troy, Tyler! That's it. If I don't check in, with her, then he dies. You don't want that to happen do you? After his parents were just so brutally slaughtered."

Clara's mouth dropped open for a second, in just about pure shock.

"You killed them?" Logan growled.

"No, but I am very close with the one who did. Now please, Clara, we'd best be in a hurry if you don't want something to happen to him too."

She swallowed, looking up at Logan and then back at David. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

He smirked that famous smirk, "Can't you smell him on me?"

Clara sniffed again, and sure enough, it was there. "Doesn't mean you took him."

"Do you really want to stick around to find out?"

Clara bit her lip and then finally stepped forward.

"Clara," Logan bit her way, and she did pause for a second.

"Logan…it's been eight years…I can't risk losing him again," she felt like crying, but held it back as she kissed him softly. "Just…find us…okay?" she told him quietly, knowing only his super hearing would have heard her.

"Of course," he replied, finally letting her go and reluctantly watching her get in the car.

David got in and took off after a quick salute to Logan, making the Wolverine even angrier.

Logan hoped on his bike and raced after them, determined not to lose them. Of course, racing through a red light at a hundred miles an hour isn't the best idea when you're trying to do so. He went flying over a small car and landed a good sixty feet from his bike. Whoever was in the car got out to check on him.

It took him a few moments, but he finally healed up and raced for his bike, realizing David's car was now long gone. Cursing, he returned to the school and immediately went to see the Professor, and to see if their son was really kidnapped.


End file.
